Further Reading

"Google plans to invest over $300 million in permanent, state-of-the-art, fiber infrastructure in Portland. No other company has made a similar commitment," Portland's Community Technology Director Mary Beth Henry told the Council (see video).

This isn't a final agreement, though.

"Google plans to decide by the end of the year whether to proceed with service in Portland and five suburbs (Gresham, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Beaverton and Hillsboro)," Oregon Live reported. "The company is evaluating local regulations, access to utility poles and regional topography to determine whether the network is technically and financially feasible."

As in Kansas City and Provo, Utah, Google would provide Internet speeds of up to 1Gbps, as well as a 5Mbps package that is free after consumers pay a $300 construction fee.

"Google's plan to provide free broadband citywide after an installation fee with no income threshold in any areas they have constructed vastly exceeds the much more limited commitments of all the incumbents," Henry said. Google also plans to "offer free gigabit service to at least 100 community organizations serving communities with lower Internet penetration rates," she said.

Google would build up to three Wi-Fi networks in outdoor public areas and agree "to operate and manage each Wi-Fi Network at its own cost and provide Wi-Fi Network access without fees during the initial term of this Franchise," the franchise document said. The city would identify optimal locations for each Wi-Fi network.

Google would pay the city five percent of its gross revenues. However, Google is not required to pay an additional 3 percent fee that Comcast pays to "cover the cost of public access, educational and governmental programming on cable TV," Oregon Live reported.